The Nature and History of the Birkat Isra'il and its Relation to the Pool 'With the Expanse of the Sea' (Sir 50: 3): Rereading Charles Warren

Abstract

The Birkat Isra'il was the largest pool in Jerusalem when it was constructed. Yet when it is studied, it is often done in connection with the extent of the Temple Platform rather than for its own sake. Charles Warren studied the pool in considerable detail yet several aspects of it remain unexplained, particularly its location within the es-Sahireh valley. Data provided by Warren suggest that the Herodian form of the pool is a secondary construction and that a previous pool had been situated directly over the lowest point of the valley and that this is the pool 'with the expanse of the sea' (Sir 50: 3) built by Simon II.     

Summerley Colliery Coke Ovens

Abstract

In the late nineteenth century there were over a thousand beehive coke ovens operating in Derbyshire, many of these concentrated in a small area between Dronfield and Chesterfield in the north east of the county. The best surviving examples are in the double range of 48 ovens on the former Summerley Colliery site. This is a scheduled monument, and is probably the largest intact range of beehive coke ovens in the UK, but the structure is deteriorating and extensive remedial action will be required for it to be preserved. The Industrial Archaeology Section of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society have carried out a survey which it is hoped will prompt the formulation of a plan for the future conservation of the site.     

Havelock Mill,Manchester: A case-study in the emergency recording of a large urban mill complex

Abstract

The early nineteenth century textile industry in Manchester is best known for its large steam-powered 'town mills', usually built in closely-packed groups alongside the canals, and for the local dominance of the cotton trade. Havelock Mill illustrates the size and complexity of these buildings but is distinguished because it incorporates the city's last intact silk mill. Documentary research and comparison with silk mills in other areas indicates that this was an exceptionally large example which was at the forefront of developments in the mechanisation of silk manufacturing. A cotton mill was later added to the site. Although parts of the complex were structurally unsound, an unusually high proportion of the original features and fittings survived.     

Tom Licence,What the Victorians Threw Away. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2015. 108 pp., 90 illus. £9.99. isbn 9781782979756

Abstract

Beehive coke ovens in Derbyshire were used to provide fuel for local blast furnaces, for the Sheffield crucible steel industry and for railway locomotive fuel. Members of the Industrial Archaeology Section of Derbyshire Archaeological Society have made a careful survey of four ranges of beehive coke ovens at Ramshaw, near Unstone, formerly the site of Ramshaw Colliery.     

The Baimoral Bridge of I. K. Brunel

Abstract

A considerable number of I. K. Bruner's railway bridges are still operational, varying in size from the great Royal Albert Bridge over the Tamar to a host of small masonry bridges for accommodation roads over or under his broad-gauge main lines and subsidiary routes like the Taff Vale Railway. There were, however, few bridges built by him apart from his railway works, and it could have been safely assumed that all such bridges which survive would have been clearly recognized as having been built by him. Yet this has not been so with one particular road bridge, for which Bruners responsibility has been either doubted or ignored, even though it survives in excellent working order. The bridge in question is that over the River Dee at Balmoral.     

WHY IS THE MINARET SO SHORT? EVIDENCE FOR EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE ON MT ZION

Abstract

On top of King David's Sepulchre at Mt Zion there is an Ottoman minaret known as al-Nabi Da'ud. Compared with other minarets in Jerusalem, al-Nabi Da'ud seems to be somewhat shorter, and has a squat-like appearance. To track why it is shorter than other minarets, we inspected written historical sources, a sequence of old drawings dated between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries and analysed the minaret's metric proportions. In drawings dated to and before 1833, the minaret is portrayed much higher than in drawings and photographs dated to and after 1838. Furthermore, comparative height-diameter ratio of various parts of the minaret does not fit those of its counterpart, the al-Qal'a minaret. Thus, we suggest that the minaret was originally built higher but damaged during the 1834 earthquake, and reconstructed to a lower height sometimes afterwards.     

Preserving dirt-walled structures in Mesa Verde National Park

Abstract

The authorities at Mesa Verde National Park have been building and managing temporary and permanent shelters over excavated mesa-top archaeological sites since 1919. Over twenty shelters have been built over the years. These have varied from informal vernacular constructions to structures designed by professional architects for the specific needs of the Park. There are presently twelve shelters in the Park. Two of the existing twelve shelters are informal 'temporary' shelters built by Park staff and are over sites that are not on exhibit to the public. The other ten shelters are over sites on exhibit and were designed by professional architects. One is of metal and was built in 1969. The other nine shelters are constructed of precast concrete with a wooden roof, built in 1984–87. The professionally designed shelters have been fairly successful in protecting the sites that they cover. In 2000 a wildfire damaged four shelters in its path but the archaeology protected by these shelters was undamaged.     

A mid-18th-century mikveh unearthed in the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam

Abstract

In 2006 archaeological research was conducted in the New Synagogue, part of Amsterdam's Ashkenazi Synagogue complex, built between 1671 and 1752, which now houses the Jewish Historical Museum. The most remarkable find was a mid-18th-century mikveh or ritual bath, used for ceremonial purification by immersion; such baths played a key role in Jewish life. The excavated example was well preserved and retained its water supply and heating system. Although it served in a specific Jewish ritual context, the structure followed the everyday construction principles of Amsterdam builders.     

Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland

Abstract

Lincoln Cathedral's Angel Choir was built in the second half of the thirteenth century to house the shrine of St Hugh of Lincoln, canonised in 1220. Although he was never a major saint, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln sought to emulate the settings newly created for more venerable saints by constructing a completely new building to house his shrine. Despite considerable study of the Angel Choir the site of the shrine has not been established, neither has the site of the original burial. This is perhaps the more surprising when it is considered that contemporary documentation survives to describe the events of St Hugh's death and burial. There is sufficient evidence within the cathedral to reconstruct the sites of the original burial and the later shrines and this is supported by documentary evidence, so far overlooked, that is presented here.     

An 18th-century timber wharf in Copenhagen Harbour

Abstract

An archaeological investigation prior to the building of Copenhagen's new Opera House examined an impressive wooden wharf built in the 1780s around Ankerøen, the island on which the Danish navy stored its anchor stocks. When considered with documentary evidence, the excavated structure can be shown to employ a distinctive method of construction, comparable to that used in the so-called 'Hamburg' type of wharf, with a heavy box-like frame fronted with slanting storm posts. It was abandoned by the mid-19th century, when the shape of ships' hulls changed.     

The 19th-Century Suspension Footbridges of Harpers of Aberdeen

Abstract

Harpers of Aberdeen, Scotland, developed a light suspension footbridge that had little connection with the 'blacksmith bridges' of the earlier part of the 19th century. Apart from scale, they differed in having a unique tensioning device together with an arched deck. Of perhaps 60 built, only a handful survive. They have not previously been described. These bridges provide a valuable insight into the affordable and adaptable engineering solutions, easily exported to all corners of the empire, which were adopted for small-scale projects during the course of the 19th century.     

The development of all-metal water towers

Abstract

This paper discusses the development in Britain and Ireland of all-metal water towers as used for water supply. Although concentrating on those provided for bulk public water supplies, an outline is given of parallel developments, especially in railway engineering, during the 19th century. After 1900, panel tanks formed of steel flanged plates generally supplanted earlier forms of tank construction found on water towers and it was not until the 1950s that other, more pleasing, styles came to be erected, although these found little favour in the water industry and few were ever built. The aesthetic and long-term maintenance problems associated with all-metal water towers are also considered. The data contained in this paper is part of a larger study into the development of all forms of water tower being undertaken by ICE's Panel for Historical Engineering Works.     

'To attract the attention of fish as little as possible': An Object-Led Discussion of Three Garments,for Country Wear for Women,Made of Scottish Woollen Cloth,Dating from 1883–1908

Abstract

This article aims to establish the precise social and cultural function of three day costumes, worn by women in Scotland in the 1880–1910 period, all made from heavy-duty woollen cloth, using an object-focused, material culture approach. Discussion is built around Tim Breen's view that things acquire meaning only once woven into cultural debate about the structure of society.     

Saltburn-by-the-Sea: The Early Years of a Stockton and Darlington Railway Company Venture

Abstract

There are throughout Great Britain numerous examples of nineteenth century new towns built on green field sites and in the north of England, for example, the names of Middlesbrough, West Hartlepool, Millom, Barrow and Silloth spring to mind. Saltburn-by-the-Sea on what was the coast of the North Riding of Yorkshire is of special interest in that, although a seaside resort, it was projected and built by the personalities who earlier had built the Stockton and Darlington Railway. This article attempts to describe the first twenty years of the existence of this new town, giving details of its physical development and indicating the struggle of the founders to make it a viable commercial enterprise.     

Early modern ideas about artistic geography related to the Baltic Region

The paper analyses the gradual changes in assistance offered to widows and widowers between 1900 and 1964. It highlights the conflicts between the principle of the family as provider of welfare and the principle of self-help embodied in poor relief, in varying municipal pensions during the inter-war period and in the right to economic assistance legitimised through the Mothers' and Widows' Pension Act in 1964. The development is seen as part of the construction of a welfare society, built on the perception of men as wage-earners and providers, women as wives and mothers. These perceptions of masculinity and femininity resulted in gender-differentiated needs in the case of widowhood, and in gender-differentiated means of covering such needs. Civil status had no importance for men's role as wage-earners, while it was decisive for the economic situation of women. Focusing on the problem of economic support, the paper discusses solutions at the individual private level, at the municipal level and at the national level. The different weighting of widows as mothers or as providers is taken into consideration, and so are consequences of demographic changes in the widowed population.     

A survey of the charcoal-fuelled ironworking industries of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire

Abstract

A project carried out in 2001 recorded the most important surviving remains of charcoal-fuelled blast furnaces and forges in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, and reviewed the documentary evidence relating to them. The earliest sites date to the end of the 16th and the early 17th century. The furnaces at Ponthenri (Carmarthenshire) and Blackpool (Pembrokeshire) and the forges at Llandyfan (Carmarthenshire) were surveyed. One furnace site (either Ponthenri or Pontiets) may retain below-ground evidence for experiments in coke smelting by Hugh Grundy in 1620, giving it considerable national importance. These monuments are little known; attention is drawn to their steadily deteriorating condition.     

A problem in pseudo-philo and its possible solution

The enigma in Psedo-Philo Chapter 19: Istic mel, apex magnus, momenti plenitudo, et ciati guttum, is often emended by the commentators. We take it as it stands. As the surrounding texts reflects, Deut 34 and Pseudo-Philo always shows a deep understanding of the biblical text, we find that the often quoted utterings in Deut: ''a land flowing with milk and honey'' and: ''the place which the Lord your God will choose'' make sense for the first two parts of the enigma. The third part points to the coming great achievements: The death of Moses and the immigration to the Holy Land. Only the fourth part is pointing to the end of time.     

Biographies of Place: The Joiners' Workshop at Harewood,West Yorkshire

Abstract

The joiners' workshop within the Harewood Estate was established in the second half of the 18th century by Edwin Lascelles (1712–95), as part of his improvements of the estate landscape. A recent buildings survey of the joiners' workshop is integrated with extensive estate records, creating a biographical account of the structure that relates to three perspectives of the building: of those who designed, built and laboured within the workshop space. The building accumulated social meaning and became entwined in the biographies of people whose daily lives, structured by work on the estate, were inscribed into the standing fabric through the fittings, layout and apparatus.     

Sir Edward Grey: The Private Life of a Foreign Secretary

ABSTRACT

This article examines the private life of Sir Edward Grey in order to explore some of the contradictions in Grey's character that continue to interest biographers and academics: he was apparently without ambition yet he pursued a successful political career; he longed to live his life in the country but spent much of it working in London; he was a man whose reputation was built on honesty and integrity but recent studies hint at extra-marital affairs and illegitimate children. It shows that Grey had an aptitude for public life and a desire to satisfy a sense of public duty but was reluctant to become defined by it, having other passions as countryman and naturalist. But the balance in his life between work and leisure became increasingly strained due to the pressures of a ministerial career and the changing nature of politics. It also finds that Grey's personal life was not without colour, even if not all the infidelities attributed to him seem credible. In addition the article contributes to the debate over whether Sir Edward Grey was an ‘ambitious political operator’ or a ‘gentleman amateur’.